The second class of the day was math.
After surviving the "hell-difficulty" math classes back in the Heavenly Dynasty, Wu Shen found this lesson… relaxing.
Too relaxing.
Instead of focusing on formulas, he found himself staring at the back of Kasumigaoka Utaha's head as she slept, thinking hard about one question:
How do I talk to her?
You can't just waltz up to someone you've barely spoken to and start chatting without a reason. That's not how human interaction works—unless you enjoy being labeled as "that weird guy."
The problem was that he and Kasumigaoka Utaha were like parallel lines—different worlds, no intersections.
Still, at some point in the unchanged future, they'd supposedly met, talked, dated, got married, and… had a daughter.
How?
Wu Shen was still deep in thought when the bell rang.
Before he could stand, Nishimura Hideki leaned over with the subtlety of a thief, whispering:"Wu Shen… are you into Kasumigaoka?"
"Huh?! How do you know!?" Wu Shen's head snapped around.
So much for keeping it subtle—his secret had been exposed in one class period!
"You were staring at her the whole time, obviously." Hideki smirked. "So… you like her?"
Wu Shen quickly shook his head. "No, I'm just… curious. Why can she sleep through class and still get perfect grades?"
Hideki visibly relaxed. "Ah, good. Because if you did like her, I'd tell you right now—give up."
"…Why?"
"You're a transfer student, so you missed the first-year chaos. Back then, the number of guys chasing her could've filled an entire classroom. Every morning, her shoe locker overflowed with love letters. Even the 'famous guys' got rejected."
"And now?"
"Now she's basically a high-and-mighty flower that no one dares touch. Except for clueless first-years who don't know better, everyone else avoids confessing."
Wu Shen stroked his chin. "So it's like that…"
Still, to him, all those guys who confessed out of nowhere were doomed from the start. Even a normal girl wouldn't say yes to a stranger—let alone Kasumigaoka Utaha.
The correct order was obvious:
Get to know her.
Become familiar.
Let feelings grow naturally.
Then confess.
Blindly charging in was asking to be rejected.
While thinking this, Wu Shen noticed Utaha had woken up. She was leaning to the side, reading a paperback novel.
His eyes lit up.
Perfect.
An icebreaker always needed a topic, and her book could be the key. If he could figure out what she was reading, he'd have a natural reason to talk to her.
Only one problem—he couldn't see the cover from here.
So, he casually got up, pretending to wander around, inching closer to her desk.
Unfortunately… her posture was perfectly angled to block the cover. He could only see the neat vertical lines of text on the pages.
Unconsciously, he had gotten so close that when Utaha suddenly looked up, their eyes met head-on.
Oh, no.
"Classmate, is there something you need?" Utaha asked softly, closing her book. Her tone was gentle, but Wu Shen felt the distance between them was like an impassable river.
Panic hit. His brain short-circuited. His mouth moved on its own.
"Uh… your stockings are nice."
…
WHAT.
Bah, bah, bah! Why?! Out of all possible sentences, why that?! Was he possessed by some stocking demon?
Utaha's eyes grew slightly colder, and Wu Shen prepared to dig a grave right there.
But before she could say anything—
"Papa! I came to see you!"
A sweet, familiar voice rang out from the doorway.
Every head in the room turned toward the little loli standing there like an angel descending from heaven.
Under normal circumstances, Wu Shen might've scolded Wu Yi for running around. But right now?
Right now, she was the MVP.
A world-class daughter! The daughter every father dreams of!
She had appeared at the perfect moment, saving him from the most awkward social death imaginable. Wu Shen almost cried tears of gratitude.
Without a second thought, he swept Wu Yi into his arms and bolted from the classroom at lightning speed.
"Wait, did that little girl just call him 'Papa'?"
"Is she a teacher's kid?"
"Or… someone in our class has a daughter already?"
"That's impossible… right?"
As speculation spread like wildfire, Kasumigaoka Utaha remained silent.
She was seated closest to the door and had gotten the clearest view of the loli.
For some reason, the little girl's face felt strangely familiar to her. Warm. Comforting.
And she'd also noticed that the guy who took her away was the same one who had been watching her earlier.
"Wu Shen… was it? I'll have to ask him about that girl later," Utaha murmured.
The awkward "stocking" comment? Completely erased from her mind thanks to Wu Yi's dramatic entrance.